Ebola: NCDC to pay contacts N100,000 weekly

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has approved a weekly payment of N100,000 per person to support individuals placed under isolation or quarantine as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Briefing newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, explained that the intervention was introduced to ease the financial burden on people identified as contacts of the confirmed case.

According to Idris, some of the individuals under public health monitoring had raised concerns about the cost of feeding, accommodation and providing for their families while complying with the restrictions and monitoring arrangements.

He said the financial assistance was considered necessary to ensure that those identified as contacts could cooperate with health officials without facing additional economic hardship.

“We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.

The NCDC boss added that the agency had approved N100,000 weekly for each person requiring the support to cover essential needs during the monitoring period.

“We are providing N100,000 per person per week just to maintain their comfort and feeding, because they were complaining,” Idris said.

He explained that the intervention was not part of the agency’s initial response plan but became necessary in view of the challenges confronting people placed under public health monitoring.

“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he said.

Idris noted that the arrangement would be reviewed as the outbreak response progressed, suggesting that the agency would assess the support based on prevailing circumstances and emerging needs.

He also called for a broader approach to emergency preparedness, insisting that the responsibility for supporting people affected by public health emergencies should not rest solely on the FCT authorities.

According to him, other states must also be prepared to provide similar assistance if they experience comparable outbreaks or public health emergencies.

“This is not the responsibility of the FCT alone. What we have to do for the FCT, we have to do for any other state, just in case,” he said.

The NCDC director-general stressed that state governments needed to make adequate financial and logistical provisions to support contact tracing, isolation arrangements and other activities required to contain infectious disease outbreaks.

He said preparedness at the subnational level was essential to ensuring a coordinated response and preventing delays in the deployment of resources when emergencies occurred.

The financial support comes amid intensified efforts by health authorities to prevent further transmission following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in Abuja on October 20.

At the time of the briefing, Idris said Nigeria had recorded one confirmed case, while 53 primary contacts had been identified for monitoring.

The contacts include healthcare workers, members of the patient’s household, domestic staff and personnel involved in collecting samples from the patient.

Health officials are categorising the contacts according to their level of exposure and conducting follow-up assessments to identify anyone who develops symptoms requiring further investigation.

The NCDC said individuals under monitoring would be assessed promptly if they developed symptoms, with testing and other appropriate interventions provided where necessary.

As part of the response, the agency has also established isolation arrangements for contacts who require them, while public health teams continue to monitor their health during the 21-day incubation period following their last possible exposure.

The monitoring exercise is aimed at identifying potential infections early, interrupting possible chains of transmission and protecting healthcare workers and the wider public.